Last Night Last
by Cynthia Salander
Summary: They'd been friends forever, but then, the night happened. Will an one night stand change anything? Mondler. Standalone.


_A/N: This takes place just after 'TOW free porn'. It's a C&M one-shot and it's based on the song 'Last night last' by Lady Antebellum. The moment I heard it, all I could picture was Chandler and Monica. Please let me know what you think! (The lyrics have been removed.)_

Disclaimer: I don't own _friends_.

**Last Night Last**

Monica entered apartment 19 with a bottle of wine in one hand and a sack full of romantic movies in the other. It was nearly three months since the guys had won their apartment and this one still didn't feel like home. She sighed as she placed both the items on the counter, wondering how she and Rachel were ever going to convince the boys to give them back their apartment.

She was alone that night because Rachel was out on a date with Joshua and she had left that evening, saying, "Don't wait up, I'll be late!" with a wink. It'd been months since she herself had been on a date. Not that there weren't any men who were interested in her, it had more to do with her own disillusionment with the concept of Love.

She thought of Richard and Pete, both of whom she had envisioned her future with at some point of time. She was heartbroken when both of those relationships had come to an abrupt end, the former due to Richard's reluctance to give her something that she really wished for and the latter due to Pete's sudden craziness.

She shuddered as she thought back to her 'date' with Richard's son. That had been her last one and man, was that an eventful night.

So, due to the sudden pang of loneliness, Monica had gone and brought home the best medicine she'd ever known for heartache - Romantic movies and wine.

She inserted the 'Say Anything' video tape into the VCR, poured herself a glass of wine, keeping the bottle within her reach and settled comfortably in her couch, pulling the blanket over herself. If she was going to be alone, she might as well make the most out of it.

~.~

Chandler sighed as he watched the pretty blonde girl, who was 'all kinds of naked', do something with the dark haired, abundantly muscled man. Something that he hoped people did only in pornography. He switched the TV off, since Joey had extracted a promise from him that he would not change the channel. Joey was ok with turning it off, but was still worried that changing the channels might make the porn disappear.

Chandler was bored out of his mind. Joey was out on a date (when was he ever not?) and Ross was with Emily since she was going back to London in a week. Ross wanted to be with her as much as he could before she left.

Chandler wanted someone to talk with, or at least to watch a movie that did not have people without any clothes on. Phoebe had left for her place to rest, claiming that she was too tired from carrying around three babies who were constantly kicking each other as well as constantly kicking her. As far as he knew, Monica was the only one around, since Rachel was out on a date, too.

He stared at the blank TV screen for a couple of minutes and then he got up from his spot on the Barca Lounger, thinking he might as well go see what Monica was up to.

~.~

The film was about to end and Monica was watching the final airplane scene when she heard a sharp knock and the opening of her apartment door. She hit the pause button and propped herself on her elbow to see that it was Chandler who had come in.

"Hey Mon, what'cha doin'?" he trailed off seeing that she was watching a movie, "or… watching?"

"It's 'Say Anything,'" she replied as Chandler reached the other end of the couch and motioned for her lift her feet. She lifted them long enough for him to sit and then rested them on his thigh.

"Isn't it a teen movie?" he asked, adjusting her feet on his lap and gently squeezed her right heel through the blanket.

"Are you saying that I am too _old_ to watch it?" She smirked to herself, knowing that Chandler wouldn't dare to take the conversation in that direction.

"Ha ha, yeah, I am not getting into that," he shook his head, chuckling.

"Yeah, it is, but I used to have this huge crush on John Cusack. So I thought, why not? Besides it's still a great movie." She smiled up at him.

He returned her smile and then noticed the other movies on the coffee table. "What's with all the chick flicks?"

She tried to smack his arm, but missed it by many inches. "Just wanted to make the most out of my alone time. It's been long since I spent the whole night watching some good romantic comedy." She sipped her wine. "Want some?" She indicated her glass to him.

"Sure," he nodded.

She handed him the bottle, lifted her feet off his lap to stand up, and fetched a glass from the kitchen.

"Here," she handed it and sat next to him, watching him pour some wine into his glass.

"Anyway, this movie is about to end." She picked up the remote, hit the play button and they began to watch the final few minutes of the movie.

"And now, they'll kiss," Chandler said, suddenly turning to face Monica, as the couple on-screen kissed.

She looked at him like he was crazy, only to see that he was wearing a smug grin. "Yeah, so?"

"I can always tell when two people are going to kiss," he said, pointing to the screen.

"Oh yeah? What's so great about that? Even I can tell!" She looked at him challengingly, her competitive spirit kicking in.

"I know you can do anything and everything, Mon," he ruffled her hair fondly, "but you can probably tell only when you've seen the movie before. While I, on the other hand, can tell even without having seen it before. I would like to think that that's something special."

She looked at him incredulously, "Keep telling yourself that." They heard the famous 'ding!' before the end credits rolled.

She shook her head, "And thanks to you, I've missed the last scene." She rose from the couch, picking up the "When Harry met Sally" cassette to play it next.

"Aren't you gonna watch the end again?" he asked, placing his wineglass on the table, reclining his body along the length of the sofa and moving farther up against its back so that she could fit in too.

"Nah… I've seen it a hundred times before." She smiled, returning to the couch as she lay down next to him, nudging him to move further back, fitting herself close to his body.

"So what are we watching now?" He draped his left hand loosely over waist, slightly pulling her in towards him, while the right supported his head.

"When Harry met Sally." She picked up her wine from the table and took a sip.

"Because you used to have a huge crush on Billy Crystal?" he asked, as the title sequence began.

She giggled. "No, because its fun and I don't know… I guess it's more relatable and real than many other movies."

"Hmmm…" He didn't know about the 'real and relatable' part, but there was nothing that could possibly be better than watching a movie with Monica. There was something about the way she got engrossed in the whole movie and the way she tried to hide the tears that were threatening to fall during emotional scenes, that he found endearing.

~.~

They had gone through about three quarters of the wine from the bottle while the film had run for a little more than an hour.

"And now, they'll kiss." He repeated his earlier statement just as Harry and Sally were about to kiss. Right on money.

"I know you've seen this movie before," she giggled.

"Hey!" he said accusingly, but added "Yeah, that's true," a little defensively. It was one of the very first movies they had watched together in the early days of their friendship.

"You know, it's a very bad idea, though," he added as he finished off his wine.

"What is?" She turned to lie on her back so that she could face him.

"Best friends hooking up." He stated simply, placing his glass on the table by reaching across her.

She looked at him curiously. "Why is that so bad?" They had witnessed Ross and Rachel get together. Of course, Ross and Rachel weren't the best of friends back then, nor had the relationship ended well, but she was curious to know whether that was really the way he felt.

"Because, they always end up hurt. Take Rachel and Ross, for instance. It all started out really well, but see how they ended. I am not judging here. I am just saying that the dynamics and equilibrium of a friendship always get shifted when you start sleeping with each other."

This coming from the guy who couldn't let go of the idea that Monica wouldn't go out with him, just a few months back.

"I don't know about that. The thing between Ross and Rachel did not end because they ruined the "sanctity of friendship"," she made air quotes, "it ended because of my brother's stupid jealousy! If at all their friendship had anything to do with their relationship, it only made them stronger. In fact, I really think that there are no two people better suited for each other than two best friends." She turned on the couch to face the TV again, implying that she had won the argument.

He stared at the back of her head, a little miffed by her response, but something else was stirring in him. Only as his mouth opened to say it, he knew what it was. "Oh yeah, then why did you reject me outright in Montauk?"

She hadn't expected that in the least. Shocked, she turned around to face him again. "What?"

"Do you not consider me as one of your best friends?" He sounded like a petulant child even to himself, but he didn't care. He reached across her once again and hit the pause button on the remote.

"Of course I do! What is there to consider? You _are _my best friend! Look at our position on this couch. Have you ever seen me lie this way next to Joey? After all these years, how could you ask me that?" The hurt on her face was unmistakable.

For a moment he floundered, but the repressed anger from six months ago came back with full force. He had never told anyone about how hurt he was when she'd said that she wouldn't go out with him. They had all thought it was a joke, but, only he knew how it had fuelled his insecurities. "So if we are as close as you say we are, why did you not agree to go out with me?"

She was starting to get annoyed. Couldn't she have just one night of fun and fun alone? One night without anyone guilt-tripping her? She looked at him carefully. He was her best friend, her best friend for so long. Although she'd never tell Rachel, he was the one with whom she shared her every little secret, insecurity and fear. And now, he was the one who needed her reassurance, much like all those times before when she'd needed his. "Chandler, I just thought you were joking back then. I am sorry if I've hurt your feelings, but I was not exactly in 'that place', you know." She smiled at him tentatively as her knuckles gently stroked his stubbled cheek.

He looked a little mollified, but it was short-lived. "So, assuming that you are in 'that place' now, will you go out with me?"

She knew he was being serious this time. All he needed was an answer. A simple 'yes' or 'no', and neither of them will ever act on it. But it was harder than any question she'd ever had to answer. Whatever answer she gave will change the way they looked at each other irreversibly. It was her turn to flounder without knowing how to respond. "It's not that simple, Chandler. I cannot… I just…"

He smiled at her and she noticed that there was something sad about the way he smiled this time. It was the kind of smile that he smiled just when he was about a say a self deprecating comment. "I know Mon, I'll always be the guy who peed on you." He kissed her forehead as if to say that he was okay with the whole thing.

He reached across her for the third time and hit the play button while she lay there numb, still not knowing how to respond. He was so much more than the 'guy who peed on her'. He was the one she turned to when she was bored. The one she turned to when she was hurt. The one who was always there to hug her and tell her that 'the guy was just not worth it', that she'd find 'the one' and that she'd find her 'happily ever after'. He was the one who'd told her that he'd have babies with her and that he'd be her boyfriend, every time she was about to cry thinking about how she had neither.

He was the only one who'd told her she was beautiful, without ever hoping to 'get lucky' that night.

He meant so much more to her than he knew, than she knew.

She couldn't let him think that he didn't mean anything more to her than just a friend. She picked up the remote and turned the TV off and turned around to face him completely, as she lay on her side. "Chandler, you are so much more to me than the 'guy who peed on me'. You are the only one who can make me smile even when I want to cry. Even on a supremely awful day, one of your silly jokes can make me smile. Do you know how hard that is? You mean to me more than you'd ever know, Chandler. I love you." She smiled up at him. "You know I love you, right?"

It was just a simple statement. I Love You. But it could evoke so many emotions than any other phrase containing just three words ever could.

He smiled at her again. This time it was a happy, genuine smile. "I know, Mon. I love you, too." He bent down and placed a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead and then on her cheek.

Chandler drew back to look at her, his clear blue eyes holding her gaze for a second too long.

Something was shifting the dynamics and equilibrium of their friendship. It felt like they were floating. They knew they had to look away, break the moment like they did in all those romantic movies, but they held it still. It was _their moment._

Monica did what her heart told her to do, for once her brain becoming a secondary choice for decision making. She hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

He leaned in, their lips centimeters apart. She whispered just before he closed the gap. "Can you still tell when two people are gonna kiss?"

~.~

Monica tried to roll on the bed but realized she was being held by a pair of strong arms - something she hadn't experienced in a while. She opened her eyes and waited for them to get accustomed to the darkness. It was a room that she was familiar with, but not too familiar to be waking up in it. It was Rachel's old room. And it was Chandler's arms that were around her.

The clock, with the numbers glowing in the dark, read 3.07. She remembered them stumbling to his apartment, still entangled in each other, because she'd told Chandler that Rachel might come back later, while he was sure that Joey wouldn't.

She twisted in his embrace to see him in the dark. His breathing deep and his hair disheveled, he'd never looked more handsome. He was still the same, but in her eyes, he was different. His lips curled in his sleep as he sighed and pulled her closer to him. She smiled remembering the previous night. She could swear the intimacy that they shared was more than what she'd had with any other guy she'd gone out with. She touched her lips as she remembered the kiss that they'd shared before they fell asleep. How could they not have given 'them' a chance before? Before she could complete that thought, another one struck her. How could she be so sure that there was a 'them' now? It was only for him to decide.

She felt him slightly stir as his grasp on her loosened for a bit and then tightened again. He groaned as he held his fingers to his forehead and then opened his eyes. He looked at her, a slow smile spreading on his face. She knew she'd remember the way his sleepy eyes crinkled, forever.

"Hey," she whispered, smiling back at him.

"Hey," he whispered back, pecking her forehead. "What time is it?"

"Around 3.10," she said, checking the clock again.

"Then why are we up?" He tried to pull her on top of him, but she resisted.

"Rachel might wonder where I am…" She was bringing their night to an end. She didn't know why, but if there was going to be no 'them', she'd have to be the one to say so. She will not be one of his 'dumped her because of my commitment issues'.

He knew what was happening. She was ending things even before they started. He'd been the one to say that when best friends hooked up, they get hurt – ironic. But if that was what she wanted, he had no other choice than to back out gracefully.

"Oh… ok." He extricated himself from her. She sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest, as she looked for her clothes on the floor in the dark. Then she remembered, they'd, in their haste, undressed in his living room.

He knew her problem. "You want a t-shirt? I could get you one from my dresser, if you like."

"Yes, please." She was a little relieved that she'd not have to leave his room naked, but was disappointed that he'd not asked her to stay. Maybe he didn't want their night to last. Did she? Yes. She was just afraid that he might get scared. After all, he was the commitment-phobic Chandler.

"Here you go." He handed her t-shirt and a boxers and pulled on one on himself, while she tried not to look. He went to the door so that she could get dressed, but just before he opened it, he turned around. "I am going to put some coffee on, would you like a cup?"

"Yes, thank you." She smiled at him, but through the darkness she wasn't sure whether he smiled back.

"Ok." She watched him leave through the door, before she stood up to get dressed in his clothes. For an unsettling moment, she smelled him on his clothes. She closed her eyes as she inhaled the familiar, comforting and the now exciting smell, but opened them just as abruptly. She had to let go of this night. Like how he had.

~.~

Chandler poured the coffee into the cups as he absentmindedly watched the vapors rise from them. Monica was yet to come out of the bedroom. And she was yet to say a word about what had happened between them last night.

He wondered what had suddenly changed. Yes, they both were a little intoxicated, but not so much that they weren't aware of what was happening. Yes, they'd been single for quite some time now. But they had been alone, single and drunk before too, so why now? What had changed all of a sudden?

He didn't have the answers, but all he knew was, their one night of passion and spontaneity would either make them or break them.

She emerged out of his bedroom wearing his clothes and looking a little uncomfortable.

"Here," he handed her a cup as she neared the green stool on the other side of the foosball table and awkwardly sat on it.

"Thanks."

They didn't know what to say. All either could think was would the other want the night to last? Because they sure did. But the problem was, they had been friends for too long. Why couldn't anything have happened some seven or eight years back? Now they were just in that shady, unclear area, somewhere between friends and lovers, and neither knew what to do.

She finished her coffee first and waited for him to finish his. Once he did, she got off the stool and took both their cups to the sink to wash.

It was something that when anyone else did, he'd think 'that is _so_ Monica'. He smiled fondly, for a second forgetting their predicament.

"You didn't have to do that." He picked the cups from her hand and placed them on the shelf.

"I know, just wanted to," she smiled. Things may get awkward, but she'd never let it ruin their friendship.

'I know', it was one of her favorite phrases, the one that he'd always made fun of, the one that he'd learned and perfected in order to tease her and make her hit him lightly, playfully. "Thanks," he whispered for some reason.

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, not quite knowing what to say, before she moved from the sink to the living room. "I'd better get going then." She knew she wanted to stay. God, did she want to stay. The only thing holding her back was the look of terror on Chandler's face if she told him her real feelings.

She bent down to pick her clothes from the floor, each article of clothing strewn about every which way.

Chandler stood behind her, watching as she segregated her clothes from his and picked them both, folding them meticulously. He tried not to smile at the look of concentration on her face, but failed.

He'd meant what he'd said the previous night. He loved this woman, and not just as a friend. He loved her little quirks and obsessions. He loved her neurosis and little rules. He loved Monica.

Chandler Bing, the commitment-phobe, was in love with Monica.

She placed his clothes on one of the Barca Loungers and turned to face him. "Those are yours." She pointed to the pile with the hand that was not carrying her clothes. "I'll give you these as soon as I wash them," she said pointing to the t-shirt and boxers that she was wearing.

"Ok." He looked at her blankly, trying to process what he'd just realized. She stared back at him, her eyes betraying her wistfulness, but only for a second.

"I'll see you later, Chandler." She moved past him to the door.

It was now or never. He needed to tell her how he felt, to know whether she felt the same way. He needed to know whether the last night could last. Forever.

"Monica," he called out, his voice too loud in the empty apartment. She turned around to face him, her eyebrows inquiring, her eyes hopeful.

"I just need to know something. I hope it's not too much to ask, but can last night last?" There. He'd said it. Not the best way to say it, but then, he was never too good with words. Besides, all that mattered was Monica and the way she felt.

She felt her heart flip and beat hard and fast against her chest. She smiled as widely as possible, unable to control her happiness. She took a step towards him before he continued.

"Because I want this to last. Forever. I love you, Mon. I need to take this chance. Will you take a chance with me?" His blue eyes meeting hers with a look of absolute earnestness and Love.

She crossed the distance in a flash, throwing her arms around him. She stood on her toes to reach his lips with her own, as he bent down to do the same, the kiss sealing their Forever.

There were three scary friends and one scary brother whom they'd have to face within hours, but this was _their moment_ and nothing could ruin it.

She drew back from the kiss as he rested his forehead against hers, smiling. "I love you, too, Chandler. God, I love you so much!" She pecked his lips once more, softly. "I knew best friends hooking up is not a bad idea." She grinned up at him.

He smiled back. "And I still know when two people are going to kiss," he whispered before pulling her closer as he bent down to kiss her again.

~.~

**The End**

~.~

A/N: _Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it! (I've stolen a line from yet another Lady A. song. An imaginary cookie for anyone who guesses it right!)_


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